


Boundaries

by That_Is_Americas_Ass



Series: Stranger Drabbles [4]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: BAMF Billy Hargrove, Billy Hargrove Redemption, Billy Needs Some Help, Billy is trying, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff and Humor, Good Sibling Billy Hargrove, Harringrove, Humor, I swear it's funny, Minor Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Relationship Advice, Robin being Robin, Steve helps, Steve to the rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 01:55:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20381782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_Is_Americas_Ass/pseuds/That_Is_Americas_Ass
Summary: Max and Lucas are spending way too much time together, at least that's Billy's opinion. In a desperate need to rant about the brats and maybe get some advice on how to handle this new territory, Billy goes to the one person he knows can help him.Steve Harrington.S3; The same Heart-To-Heart talk between Hopper and Joyce about Mike and Eleven...only this time it's between Billy and Steve about Max and Lucas.





	Boundaries

**Author's Note:**

> My darlings, welcome to number four! This one is my attempt at mindless humor. Every time I watch the first episode of Stranger Things Season 3 I bust out laughing at poor Hopper. His talk with Joyce about setting boundaries for some reason made me think about Billy and Steve talking about Max and Lucas...and so here we are. So, this is basically that same scenario except it's Billy and Steve, not Hopper and Joyce. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy!

"Again? Seriously?"

Billy _had_ been having a quiet night at home reading in his room when Max burst in, uninvited, asking him to drive her to the movie theater so she and Lucas could have a date night.

It was the third freakin' date they'd had in a week.

It was only Thursday.

You do the math.

"Please? Neil isn't here and mom's busy," Max begged, giving him the pouting lips. She knew Billy had nothing better to do than drive her around, brat.

"Do I look like a damn chauffeur?"

"Yep. Now come on, we're gonna be late, and we have to pick up Lucas." Tossing his keys to him, Max rushed out the room to the front door, not even bothering to ask if he was taking her.

"Goddammit, Max!"

Growling, Billy tossed his book onto the bed and got up, searching the floor for a pair of jeans that were somewhat clean and a shirt. He really hadn't planned on leaving the house that night. But of course, did Max bother to ask him if he was busy or if he had plans?

No.

No, because apparently Billy's only purpose in life was to cart his annoying little sister around so she could play with her nerdy friends!

Ever since the dreaded nail-bat incident, Max and Billy had come to a truce, of sorts, which lead them to having a fairly good relationship. Billy even went the extra mile and apologized to Harrington _and_ Sinclair..._grudgingly._

The main reason Billy didn't care for Lucas was because of the weird argument Lucas had with Max outside the school, which Max still wouldn't explain to him, that left Max upset. Billy had simply thought Lucas hurt his sister and that was not something he would tolerate, even from a 13 year old kid. His fight with Steve had been the result of Billy just having a really shitty night. After dealing with Neil's bullshit, scouring the whole fucking town for any sign of Max, dealing with Nancy's cougar mom and then listening to Steve _lie to his face_ about Max, it had pushed him over the edge. He took his anger out on Steve, but they'd talked it over and Billy even begrudgingly explained the issues he dealt with at home to Harrington so he would understand, which he did. Steve had accepted his apology, offered a chance at starting over and Billy took it.

Unfortunately, now that they were all on good terms with each other, Lucas was no longer afraid of Billy. The problem with this new development was that Lucas was _no longer afraid._ The kid thought he could get away with shit when it came to Max because he didn't fear Billy anymore, which resulted in bullshit like this happening, driving Max to the movies so she could spend more time with her boyfriend.

_Too much time!_

"Billy, come on!"

Sighing, Billy rolled his eyes and finished getting dressed so Max would shut up. He grabbed his keys and headed out the door.

* * *

The drive to the Mall was long.

So long.

Why was it long?

Because Billy spent the whole time desperately trying to ignore the _kissing_ going on in the backseat of his car!

The second they'd pulled up to the Sinclair house and Lucas hoped in the back with Max, the two had been on each other like they hadn't spent all day together. It was gross. Billy seriously didn't want to see or picture his sister kissing anyone.

_Bleh!_

Why couldn't it be like back in California when Max still thought shit like kissing was gross? Billy still remembered when she would wrinkle her nose at the sight of Neil kissing Susan, claiming it was disgusting.

Thankfully, once they reached Starcourt, Max and Lucas had jumped out to rush to the movie theater. Max had yelled to Billy a quick _thank you_ before the two disappeared inside.

Billy had tapped the steering wheel a few times wondering what to do to pass the time. When he glanced across the parking lot and spotted Steve's red Beemer he knew exactly what he wanted to do and walked into the Mall, heading straight for Scoops Ahoy.

Sure enough, right behind the counter was a familiar head of hair under that stupid sailor hat.

"Welcome to Scoops Ahoy, I'll be your Capt--_oh god_." Steve groaned, turning around to see Billy with an annoyed look on his face.

"What now?"

"Max and Lucas," Billy growled.

"You wanna rant?"

"Obviously."

"You want me to make you a banana split to rant with?"

"Don't fuckin' patronize me, Harrington."

"You want extra whip cream and cherries?"

"Obviously!"

* * *

"And then Max just _barges_ into my room and pouts until I give in!"

"Mmm-hmm," Steve hummed, sitting at the table twirling his hat as Billy paced back and forth during his rant, devouring the banana split Steve made him. For the last 5 minutes Billy had done nothing but rant and rave about Max's relationship to Sinclair and how sick he was of their non-stop lovey dovey crap!

"You know what it is? It's that little shit Sinclair. Ever since the nail bat fiasco he's become a smug son of a bitch and I'm gonna lose it, Harrington I'm seriously gonna lose it!" Billy threw his hands up, ready to pull his hair out in frustration.

"Okay, just calm down," Steve soothed, trying to get Billy to sit down and relax.

Falling into the chair across the table, Billy face planted and groaned, "I need them to break up."

"That is _not_ your decision."

"They are spending entirely too much time together! You agree with me, right?"

"Well, I mean they are just _kissing_, right?" Steve asked jokingly, watching Billy choke on a piece of banana.

"They'd better be!"

Rolling his eyes, Steve leaned forward and tried to think of some advice to give. He wasn't great at a whole lot of stuff, but he was pretty good when it came to the shitheads.

"Billy, you can't just force them apart? They're not little kids dude, they're teenagers. If you order them around all they're gonna do it rebel."

"So I'm just supposed to let them do whatever they want?" Billy sputtered, incredulously. He was _not_ down for that!

He let Max get away with enough shit as it was.

Steve quickly shook his head and said, "No, I didn't say that. I just think maybe you should...talk to them?" he shrugged.

"No. No, talking doesn't work with Max."

"Not _yelling_. Not _ordering_. Actual talking, Hargrove. You know, like a heart to heart?"

Billy stared at him for a minute, muttering, "A heart to heart?"

"Yeah, you know like you sit them down and you just talk to them, like you're their friend. I find that if you talk to them on their own level then they really start to listen. Then you can start to create some boundaries."

Steve recalled the last talk he'd had with Dustin about his excessive cursing, specifically in public. It hadn't been a great conversation but Dustin agreed to give it a rest and watch the language, at least around adults.

Never let it be said that Steve Harrington wasn't a damn good babysitter.

Billy took another bite of ice cream, wondering if maybe Steve was onto something.

_A talk._

"A talk to establish boundaries," he mumbled, licking whip cream off his lip.

_That could work._

Steve nodded, "Yeah, but, you gotta remember that no matter how they respond to you, you stay calm. You can not lose your temper or it all means nothing."

"Maybe you could do it for me..."

"No dice, amigo."

"They'll listen to you," Billy muttered jealously, hating that it was true. The kids all listened to Steve.

"Dude, it will only work if it comes from you," Steve stated. "But maybe..." he thought quickly and got up to look in the drawers.

"But what?" Billy asked with a mouth full of ice cream, watching Steve rummage around the drawers. In a few moments Steve triumphantly pulled out a pad of paper and a pen, turning back to the table with a smirk.

"But maybe, I could help you find the right words to say."

"Oh god..."

Billy was gonna need _way_ more ice cream for this.

* * *

"I know this is a difficult conversation to have...I hope you know that I..._care_ about you."

"Eye contact," Steve interrupted, trying to be encouraging.

Sighing, Billy looked up and and locked eyes with Steve, receiving a thumbs up in return.

_This is so stupid..._

"And I know...that you both care about each other..._very much_\--this does not sound like me at all, Harrington," Billy complained tossing his hands up.

"Just keep going!" Steve waved his hands in a _come on_ motion, trying to get Billy to continue. They'd gone over the speech multiple times already.

Grumbling, Billy bit back a curse and continued, "Which is _why_ I think it's important to establish these..._boundaries_...moving forward?"

"Come on, keep going."

"So we can build an environment...where we all...feel...comfortable. And trusted. And...open?"

_Who the fuck talks like this anyway?_

"Too share our feelings," Steve coaxed, watching Billy glance down at the notepad.

"Too share our fe--this isn't gonna work. It's not. Not gonna work." Billy stood up and threw the notepad onto the table and went back to pacing.

Robin opened the sliding door and leaned in, "Dream boy is totally right Dingus. You're making him sound like a Mr. Rogers knock-off."

"You are not part of this conversation!" Steve yelled, throwing his hat at her.

"Come on, Dingus, let me have a chance at the _Hargrove Therapy Session _while you sling ice cream for awhile!"

"Get outta' here! Shoo! Go scoop ice cream for customers!"

Billy ignored them both and sank back down to the table, "Maybe I could just kill Lucas," he sighed. "I'm pretty good I think I could cover it up."

"We do not solve problems with murder," Steve chided using his _mom voice_. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, both lost in their heads before Billy suddenly spoke up again.

"You busy tonight?"

"You mean do I have any big plans after another spectacular day scooping out ice cream for whiny, snot-nosed kids? Yeah, big night, because you know my social life is just booming with activity."

"You wanna grab a bite after you get off?"

Steve smirked, "You sweet on me, Hargrove?"

"Come on, pretty boy. You could give me some more pointers," Billy grinned lavishly, the kind that had women sink to their knees for him. He hadn't been able to spend very much time free time with Steve due to work and the brats.

Hopefully that would change.

"Grab some burgers, we could drive out to the quarry? I'll even let you wear the hat."

"So that's your thing, huh? Sailor boys?" Steve teased, pointing to the ridiculous headwear. He hated the damn hat, it ruined his best feature.

"Only pretty ones."

Robin interrupted them by obnoxiously banging on the window and yelling, "Just shut up and bang each other already!"

"You're not part of this conversation, Robin!"

* * *

Billy laid on the couch with an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips, reading over the damn paper Steve had made for the equally stupid boundaries talk.

_When had this become his life?_

"Important to establish these boundaries...moving forward...environment..." he mumbled, re-reading Steve's words over and over. The more he read it the worse it sounded after awhile.

Max would never believe this crap.

Sinclair wouldn't take him seriously.

The kids in question were currently outside playing in the back yard, or at least they had been earlier.

For all Billy knew the two were making out again...

"Boundaries...moving forward...comforting feelings?"

Looking back at the paper, Billy let out a heavy groan before giving up on memorizing the whole thing. Steve had been convinced it would work but Billy knew it wouldn't. It wouldn't work because he knew Max and Max would not buy into all this therapeutic, talk-about-our-feelings new-age bullshit, or whatever the hell it was Harrington did with the brat pack.

Billy wasn't Steve.

He wasn't the ultimate babysitter.

He wasn't the _kid whisperer._

What he was, was Max's older brother.

He was trying to be a better brother to Max. Yes, he'd screwed up the last couple years with her but he was _trying_ now. One of the things they had talked about was just that; talk to each other. They had agreed to actually talk to each other about certain things, such as relationships, so as not to create so much drama at home. For instance, if Billy had a date over he would tell Max in advance so she wouldn't walk in on him in the middle of sex, which she had almost done a few times in the past. But how was he supposed to tell Max that her and Lucas spending so much time together was freaking him the fuck out? He couldn't! He'd come off looking like a total dick and push back all the progress they'd made!

This was a seriously messed up conundrum...

"Come on, you can do this. Sharing feelings. Share your feelings. How the hell does Harrington do this shit?"

Crumbling up the paper, he tossed it into the trash can and stood up, pacing the floor a few times to work himself up.

"You can do this. Just tell them to knock it off a bit. Cut back. Simple."

Walking out the back door, Billy rolled his eyes at the teens laid out on the grass beneath the steps. Max was on her back looking up at the darkening night sky while Lucas was laying on his stomach messing with Max's hair.

It was sickeningly lovey dovey crap.

"Fuck, why me..." he grumbled. "Alright, love birds. Knock it off for a second, I need to talk to you."

The kids sat up and turned to him, each throwing him a confused look. Billy took out his lighter and lit his cigarette, taking a deep drag to calm his nerves.

_You can do this._

_Comforting feelings. _

_You can do this_

_Boundaries. _

_Environment. _

_You can do this. _

_Feelings._

_Just talk to them on their level. _

_You can do this!_

"Billy?"

Max was looking at him weirdly, obviously confused with what he wanted. Lucas was just sitting there quietly tensed while also giving him a strange look.

"Everything okay?" Max asked, puzzled by his silence. She probably thought something was wrong because of the strange way he was acting and Billy didn't blame her, but at that moment his mind had gone blank...he couldn't remember a damn thing from that stupid piece of paper.

_Shit..._

Taking another drag, Billy tried to think of a way to start the talk. He was already uncomfortable with the whole thing.

"Look, I just need to talk to you about something."

Max was still looking at him weirdly. If Billy were in her shoes he would be a little freaked out too, so he really couldn't blame her. Lucas, however, seemed to think Billy's fumbling was funny. The little shit went from tense to nonchalant like nothing was wrong.

"Hey, Max? I think we're in trouble," Lucas whispered grinned, snickering as he whispered to Max like they were co-conspirators. Max laughed at whatever it was Lucas whispered to her. The duo went right back to ignoring Billy's presence.

_Screw your heart-to-heart feelings crap, Harrington._

Glaring at the two, Billy tossed his cig to the ground and crushed it beneath his boot, _tsking._

"Sinclair, your mom called."

That shut them up.

Max looked back to Billy bewildered, "I didn't hear the phone ring?"

"Course you didn't, you've been too busy gazing into Sinclair's eyes," he taunted, smirking as Max stuck her tongue out at him for his teasing.

"Is everything cool?" Lucas asked, unbothered.

Billy shook his head, pursing his lips and _tsking_ again, "Nope. Apparently somethin's wrong with Erica, really sick all of a sudden. Your mom's worried you may have it too and wants you home, right now."

"Is Erica okay?"

"Don't know. All your mom said was to get you home right away."

Turning back to the house, Billy smirked as Lucas rushed to say goodbye to Max, promising to call later.

_Sucker._

* * *

"Does she need a hospital?" Lucas asked impatiently, worry clear in his voice as he followed Billy out to the car.

"No," Billy growled, rolling his eyes at the kids continuous grilling.

"Did she get hurt?"

"No."

"Is she even sick?" Lucas probed as he jumped into the passenger seat of the camaro and slammed the door shut.

Billy slid into the driver seat and tried to remain calm, "No."

"Then I don't understand! What's wrong with Erica!"

"There's _nothing wrong_ with Erica!"

_So much for staying calm, Hargrove._

"What?" Lucas questioned completely confused at the sudden turn of events, staring at Billy doubtfully.

"But..." Billy began, "There is something _very wrong_ with this thing between you and Max."

A sudden clarity came over Lucas and he glared at Billy, scoffing in disbelief. 

"You lying asshole!" he yelled enraged, turning to open the door.

Billy quickly hit the locks.

_Lock._

Lucas glared and pulled the lock up.

Unlock.

_Lock._

Billy pushed the locks back down.

Lucas grabbed the lock and pulled it up again.

Unlock.

_Lock._

Unlock.

_Lock._

Unlock. 

_Lock._

"You're crazy!" Lucas cried furiously!

"Crazy?" Billy murmured wide eyed, "You wanna see real crazy, Sinclair?"

He leaned across the seat to glare at Lucas, giving him the patented Hargrove stare down. The kid reeled back against the window in fear, loosing the confidence he had before, trying to put whatever distance he could between them.

"Disrespect me again...and then you'll see real crazy."

That was a promise.

"So, here's what's gonna happen," Billy leaned back and lit up another cigarette. "I'm gonna drive you home. And I'm...going to _speak_. And you're going to _listen_."

Blowing smoke, keeping his glare on Lucas, he carried on lowering his voice just to add a little more fear to the shovel talk he was about to unload onto Sinclair.

"And then _maybe_. Maybe by the end of it, if you're lucky, maybe...I will _continue_...to _allow_ you...to date...my sister," he growled.

Lucas nodded quickly, keeping his mouth shut, afraid to piss off Billy even more. The camaro roared to life and tore out of the driveway. Billy may or may not have taken the long way to drop Sinclair off.

After all, he had a lot of feelings he needed to share with Lucas about _boundaries_.

* * *

The next day, Billy waltzed into Scoops Ahoy with a devilish grin and a hop in his step. Steve finished serving up the customers he had before waving Billy into the back to get the scoop on what happened. Once they were alone, Billy wagged his tongue and beamed.

"Emotions have been shared."

He dropped into one of the chairs.

"Boundaries have been set."

Throwing his feet up onto the table, he leaned back and smirked.

"Order has been restored."

"So it worked!" Steve smiled excitedly, shocked that the plan actually worked.

"This is the first day in 3 _excruciating_ _months_ that they will not be spending time together."

Steve gave him a victory clap looking very impressed, dropping down into the opposite chair.

"So you remembered everything?" Steve asked eager to know everything.

_Crap._

"Yeah, yeah I mean I had to improvise a little bit, you know? Turns out, getting to Lucas was the key," Billy shrugged nonchalantly.

Steve suddenly looked skeptical.

"And you didn't yell at him?"

"Of course not!"

Crossing his arms, Steve leaned back and gave a mild glare and pursed his lips.

"You yelled at him, didn't you..."

"I didn't yell at him!"

"How much did you threaten him?"

Billy sighed and held up his fingers an inch apart, "Maybe a little..."

"Billy!"

"Maybe heart to heart talks just aren't my thing, Harrington."

Steve groaned, "You didn't even look at the notes when you talked to them, did you!" he stated accusingly, back to using the _mom voice_.

"It wouldn't have worked."

"Because you didn't give it a chance!" Steve exclaimed, throwing his hands up! Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed dramatically before asking, somewhat calmly, "Did you at least talk to Max too?"

The silence was answer enough.

"You didn't even talk to her did you."

Total silence.

"Billy!" Steve moaned, exasperated.

Billy just smirked and licked his lips, "You know if you're gonna moan out my name like that at least let me take you out first."

"Skip the date and bone each other already!" Robin yelled from outside the window, laughing when Steve threw his hat at her again.

"You are still not part of this conversation, Robin!"

_Fin_

**Author's Note:**

> Good addition? Bad addition? In the middle? 
> 
> As always, leave a comment and let me know what you guys think! 
> 
> Until next time!


End file.
